I noticed an intriguing paradox in American politics. It seems that Trump accidentally awakened what had been sleeping — a mass civil resistance. The 'No Kings' protest is approaching the scale of the demonstrations against the Iraq war that took place a quarter of a century ago. This is a serious signal.

Simon Kelner, the editor-in-chief of The Independent, offered an interesting assessment of what is happening. He writes that millions of Americans took to the streets not because of a single specific issue, but because they felt threatened in the most fundamental things — the sovereignty of the Constitution, trust in the democratic system, justice. This is not just a political protest; it is an anti-authoritarian movement that has a completely different character than before.

What’s interesting: unlike the civil rights march in the 60s or Black Lives Matter in 2020, 'No Kings' is an all-encompassing campaign against the very principle of unchecked power. This is precisely the moment when people stopped believing that the system would protect itself. Society seems to think that the administration is willing to ignore court orders, and this has broken something in Americans’ consciousness.

Trump, of course, mocked the protests, calling them 'very small' and 'ineffective.' But data shows about 8-9 million participants. This number is close to the legendary '3.5 percent rule' developed by Harvard researcher Erica Chenoweth. Her analysis showed that nonviolent protests reaching this threshold never failed. If 'No Kings' gathers 12 million at the next march, it will overshadow even the Iraqi protests.

The paradox is that Trump himself, it seems, has radicalized his nation. The movement that started as anti-elitist has now faced widespread rejection. Kelner notes that for people accustomed to order and legality, resistance has become the only option. Many Americans now see what is happening as a challenge to the country’s 250-year-old way of life.

The question Kelner poses is serious: are we witnessing something like an 'American Spring'? History shows that marches rarely change regimes, but that doesn’t mean they are pointless. Sometimes they simply show that a sleeping giant has awakened. And it seems that this has already happened.